What is with the paint?

[bassclef65]

Hi everyoneJust wondering how everybody's paint is holding up on their 2009's. I bought a 2009 Carbon Grey Vibe in Aug and I must say in the 20+ years I've been driving and owning cars I have never had paint chip this easily before. It seems everyday I am finding a new chip some where mostly on the hood. Has anyone had success getting a repaint under warranty?Thanks

[Caretaker]

my hood was repainted due to the acid rain damage. If you are correct, it would appear that the lasers at NUMMI are just as bad as the first generation Vibe (the worst paint in history of car making), and that I'm lucky I got my hood repainted because of acid rain. However, although the hand painted hood seems to have a much thicker coat of paint than the rest of the car, it comes with specks of dirt blasted in (which is normal with any non laser, non environmentally controlled aftermarked paint job). My 2003 Vibe's hood looks like it has been walked over by someone wearing golf spikes. I don't think the first generation Frosty White was clearcoat, so that might account for the less than stellar paint appearance over these 7 years.

[shemp]

the paint on my car seems fine so far. Dents keep materializing however, but I believe careless door openers are to blame for that.

[Caretaker]

yep, I got that too on my '09. It mystifies me where these small scratches and dings come from (stupid squirrels)

[shemp]

laser? used in the paint system? that's a new one for me... can you elaborate on that?

[Silversn95]

Same colour Vibe here with no problems so far but we don't have many miles on it either (only about 4000kms or so).

[NibCrom]

The paint on my hood is fine, but the bottom of the sides is falling apart pretty fast. It is seriously a terrible paint job.

[Caretaker]

Sorry, I meant Phasers!!Anyway, there aren't little gnomes hand spraying your car as it comes down the assembly line, and its not dipped like an easter egg.I just sent you an IM explaining the process in short. Robots rule the day. It is all computer (laser) driven.

[shemp]

I got your IM.... I'm suprised to hear that they paint from canisters instead of using drums and hoses like I've seen in most plants. The amount of paint that gets wasted everytime the lines need to be flushed (everytime you have to change colors) is expensive and wasteful and certainly isn't doing the environment any favors. I don't know what compromises they had to make or how well it works, but it sounds like an innovative system.

[shemp]

I should qualify the above post by saying that sometimes an idea sounds like it would be more efficient than current methods, but in the end proves not to be so.In the case above, how often do the bottles need to be cleaned and flushed? What is the scrap-rate? What is the rework-rate compared to conventional systems? What was the additional tooling hit? How much maintenance is required by comparison? etc. ...When you work all that out, you might find that for certain production volumes a conventional drum & hose system is still the best choice.To Toyotas credit, you don't know unless you try it.Sorry to veer off topic.

[ColonelPanic]

Glad to see the investment NUMMI made in the paint shop a few years back really paid off!

[Caretaker]

he, he....rework rate??? they should definitely do a rework on my 2003 Vibe..... what a joke of a paint job. I want my money back NUMMI!!!

[goochsmooch]

Wow, I didn't know that the first gen. Vibes had crappy paint jobs too. My '09 has quite a few chips in the hood and a couple scratches on the side. It is by far the most delicate paint job I've ever encountered and it's my biggest disappointment with the car. I envisioned owning this car for at least 10 years, but now I shudder to think about how it will look by then.Does anyone know if this is something that the warranty would cover if one were to lose a significant amount of paint in the first 1-2 years?

[keithvibe]

thin paint='s less weight='s better mpg LOL

[Caretaker]

no kidding: I was SCRUBBING my 2003 with Ajax powder and a hard bristle brush just to get the grime off of the frosty white paint the other day. The car looks great now, but now reveals the hundreds of paint chips and scrapes due to the "robots not doing their job." Part of the reason I went with a 2nd Vibe is that I was told by a NUMMI supplier that the quality control had significantly improved. I had hoped that meant the paint improved too. From what you all are saying, perhaps the first generation robots were not fired like they should have been.

[j42.snyder]

I just waxed my white 2009 for the first time today. Only problems found so far are a few small pieces of lint that found their way into the paint, and a moderate case of rail dust - mostly at the front of the car.Already have 2 or 3 chips on the front bumper, but our roads are still covered in crap from the winter here. I travel about 80% highway, so I wasn't too surprised - just a little bummed - only 2 weeks old.

[Tailslide]

My 12 year old ford pickup had fewer chips in the paint than my 09 vibe after 4 months. Worse paintjob ever.

[Dog Hauler]

250 miles on the new '09 and already a chip in the hood. I just ordered invisimask from 3M for the front bumper.

[bodhi_tree777]

i have an 03, silver, and the paint was starting to go south in the past year. A few good size chips, and tons of minute little scratches and spots. I got lucky, though, had some storm damage and just got a free respray of my bumper, fenders, hood and roof courtesy of my insurance company . Hopefully this will hold out for another 5-6 years at least.

[scherry2]

they don't use waterbased paint like GM does. it is thinner based which is softer.GM electrocoats its vehicles resulting in a harder thicker paint coat.and clear coat? Toyota doesn't use it on the vibe at least not on the 03 thru 06 models

[new vibe man]

i have an 09 black gt. i bought it around september it has around 8500 miles now and the hood is COVERED in small chips. and i mean COVERED. i doubt it will happen, but i hope there is some kind of recall done or something. i'm just waiting for the rust to start.

[bassclef65]

Ya it's kind of disheartening I was so proud of the car when I first got it now I hate to wash it and find another chip. I'am going to try this stuff called Langka chip and scratch repair. Anybody have any experience with this product?

[shemp]

Have any of you guys that have paint issues been back to the dealer? This should be covered under the warranty. If lots of people are having this issue, Pontiac may have to issue a service bulliten or something (if they haven't already). Whatever the case, you should definetly document the issue with the dealer. ...my $0.02

[scherry2]

Quote, originally posted by shemp »Have any of you guys that have paint issues been back to the dealer? LOL yea we have. since 2002. the greatest reply I got was to quit driving down gravel roads. its just another problem with the Toyota/GM relationship. GM refuses to warranty Toyota paint or Toyota refuses to honor warranty claims. you decide but its been going on for 7 years.

[ColonelPanic]

Heh, much griping has been done but they haven't done crap about it. I can't think of a single member that got a repaint.When I brought it up to the dealer he just told me "yup, m's rock chips!" Yeah, no *#$% sherlock! They shouldn't be there, nor should those bugs that got etched into the paint and won't come off. Do something about it! A guy I work with was telling me about the time he detailed his old bosses Corolla for him and how nasty the front end was, couldn't get the bugs off, etc.. "That one came from NUMMI," I replied. I don't think those Tacoma people that have little to no paint or even primer on the inside of the cab and were getting rust got much help either. They were complaining about chipping too but Toyota didn't do anything about it.

[Celtic_Curse]

I finally cleaned the car and found the hood and roof was completely covered in chips plus they are starting to rust. Gonna have the roof and hood painted next year before the whole thing goes south.

[zathrak]

I am looking at getting a Black '09 (or '10) Vibe GT and I do a considerable amount of highway driving in Michigan. As some of you know, Michigan was rated one of the top 5 worst roads in the nation lol. Anyhow, should I not get black? I was also planning on doing whatever I could to protect the paint job and prevent dings and scratches, perhaps by the 3m products. Do they work? Will I be disappointed? It makes me nervous seeing reports on such a poor paint job. I wonder if the '10 paint job is better lol.

[Dog Hauler]

I just put on 3M invisimask on the front end to protect it from chips.

[zathrak]

I've heard that there is a major performance difference between the 3m invisimask and an actual paint sealant. Does applying a paint sealant really do a good deal for vehicles...particularly like the black vibe I'm about to get?

[vibedrivermatt]

Ive had mine about a year and thinks the paints ok...I think the shade of grey has gotten a little lighter though...brand new seemed to be a bit darker shade of grey (still looks great though). My 09 carbon metallic black vibe's paint is fine other than a few stone hits on the hood which are unavoidable..and a mysterious bit of paint missing right next to the rear windshield that's not very big or noticeable.. ohhh the clear coat has gotten all scratched in a bunch of places from a harsh North east winter. It was outside in a bunch of ice storms and I could have been more careful scraping it off when I had to go drive....ummm gotta be more careful next winter I guess..Despite this the car still looks very new

[djkeev]

Hi,Before I purchased my 2007 Vibe I did basic online research on the car. The usual things, reliability, handling, fuel mileage, customer satisfaction, etc. Virtually every place I looked I found complaints about the quality of the paint.Knowing this I purchased my Vibe anyway based on the many other positive points.I am not surprised or unhappy that my paint chips easily, I expected it and knew about it before hand. Would I be happier if the paint was better, for sure I would be but anyone who did any pre-purchase inquiries should have known about the ongoing paint issues and expected them.Dave

[BurnOnyx08]

Have had my 08 for about 16 months and there is a good sized paint chip on the A pillar and multiple flecks off the hood. My 88 Civic after 10 years had zero paint chips. Thinking a good wax will buff out the smaller ones but not too impressed with my abyssmal abyss. Lol.

[lannvouivre]

Quote, originally posted by scherry2 »and clear coat? Toyota doesn't use it on the vibe at least not on the 03 thru 06 modelsWait, what? That would certainly explain a few things...but I don't understand why they wouldn't have a clear coat?

[09vGT]

Some of my paint chips have started to rust. One on the door too.

[Zimm]

Quote, originally posted by 09vGT »Some of my paint chips have started to rust. One on the door too. same here. zimm=not happy.

[star_deceiver]

I've got a couple at the top of the windshield and front of the hood that are starting....